With the tissue paper still folded in a stack, hand-draw a block capital letter “A” on top. Don’t worry about being too perfect. The imperfections are part of the charm with this project.
Next, cut out the letter. Because your tissue paper is folded, you’ll get a whole stack of letters from this one cut.
Here they are all separated and fanned out:
Okay – the fun part! Pour a little puddle of PVA glue on an ice-cream lid or plastic plate, and thin it down with a generous splash of water. Mix the water in with a paintbrush. Now use the brush to quickly coat an entire broad section of your brown paper with glue.
Get your kids to start sticking the tissue-paper letters all over the glue in a random overlapping pattern.
The kids really loved this process and went to town with it!
Every now and then I would point out a spot that could do with a few more letters stuck to it, or suggest they try a different colour to mix it up, but for the most part, I would just brush on the glue and they’d happily stick down their letters any which way they pleased.
It was fun to see the different colours appearing where two colours overlapped.
Once we had enough letters on the page, I went back over the top with some more watered-down PVA glue brushed over any loose edges or sticking-up bits.
Here’s the finished pattern, held up to the light! Aren’t those transparent overlapping letters gorgeous?!
The glue dries clear. Your paper will be a bit crispy and crinkly from the layer of glue, but that’s okay because we have another step at the end to finish it off. You may need to trim any letters that are dangling over the edges at this point.
After covering the scrapbook with the ABC paper, I printed out some editable chalkboard labels I found online. AND NOW I CAN’T FIND the exact same ones I used!! Aaagh! Never fear, you can find some very similar ones here. Just download, edit to include the name and subject you want, and print onto plain white paper. Cut out the label and glue it on…
I was so pleased with the chalkboard effect! Very cute and school-ish looking, and really anchors the rest of the page.
Last step: cover with contact. Ta-da! Beautiful glossy-smooth covers.
So that’s our ABC book covers. I was so stoked with how these turned out! They really do look so colourful and effective, considering it’s such a simple technique.
What do you think – is this something you’d like to try? More to the point, is there anyone else out there who still hasn’t started buying their kid’s book list? Tell me I’m not the only one.
My elder child is also starting Prep this year! Can't believe it. Time just flies.
It sure does, Elle! It's so bittersweet seeing them go off to school, all "grown up"! Hope your eldest enjoys their start at Prep!
My elder child is also starting Prep this year! Can't believe it. Time just flies.
It sure does, Elle! It's so bittersweet seeing them go off to school, all "grown up"! Hope your eldest enjoys their start at Prep!